Dietary Supplements and Doctor Prescriptions

A dietary supplement is a product you eat and drink. These are all made to help people's health and well-being. There are thousands of supplements on the market and consumers may want to know which products are useful. Firstly, according to the US government, dietary supplements are a huge and growing market for American consumers who are interested in maintaining or improving health, appearance or vitality. Approximately 4,000 dietary supplements were on the market in 1994, but by 2008 it was estimated that this figure would increase to approximately 75,000 supplements available to consumers (Consumer Affairs Journal).

Generally, FDA regulations on dietary supplements are different from regulations on prescription or over-the-counter drugs. Unlike medicines that must be approved by the FDA on the market, dietary supplements do not require review before marketing or FDA approval. Supplement companies are responsible for proof that their products are safe and that labeling is true and not misleading, but there is no need to provide this evidence to the FDA until the product is available.

Products containing substances similar to those contained in prescription drugs are sold as dietary supplements. Likewise, products containing ingredients that mimic illegal street drugs are sold to teens through teens and drinks as a diet supplement, through stores specializing in drugs. April 18 213 See February 1, 1999 Herbals Pharmaceutical Company Share Request, Chain Drug Review. 214 See Edward R. Silverman of Star-Ledger's unidentified herb supplement baseline on April 18, 1999. 215 I saw this commercial personally. 216 See 18th April 1999, Edward R. Silverman, unidentified herb supplementation baseline, star-leisure. 218 Id. 219 See February 1, 1999 stock request by Herbals pharmaceutical manufacturer, Chain Drug Review.

Unlike Prescription Drugs, herbs are classified as a dietary supplement, so you can avoid rigorous examination by the Food and Drug Administration of the test, which must be passed for prescription drugs. Indeed, with the Nutritional Supplement Health Education Act in October 1994, it is not mandatory for herbal products manufacturers to prove the safety and effectiveness of their products. To make matters worse, computer software used by pharmacists to signal potentially dangerous drug interactions does not identify harmful interactions with herbal products. For example, if temptation to improve memory or to ease arthritis pain is strong, please help your mind and consult your doctor before attempting "safe" herbal therapy.

Your doctor needs to know what medicine you are drinking, medicines prescribed by other doctors and any nutritional supplements (vitamins, minerals, herbs etc). Please put all medicines and nutritional supplements (prescription medicine and marketing medicine) in the original container. In this way, the doctor knows the dose you take, the frequency of taking, and the schedule of supplementation. Most doctors and imaging centers need to sign a form to send records to a new doctor. Since not all offices will contact you in advance to arrange forwarding records, you need to ask how to arrange for these arrangements. Successful transfer of your records can help you avoid the cost of repeated diagnostic tests (and potential medical risks)